It's July 1st today. If you do not reside in the Great White North, you likely have no idea that today is Canada Day, a holiday where all of Canada comes together and acts ...Canadian. The only reason I actually know when this is is because today is also my birthday, so on this day I feel a close kinship with our neighbors and a desire to consume maple syrup. Also possibly bacon. Maybe even maple syrup ON bacon. I sure am glad I have that Wii Fit...

Anyway, happy Canada Day to all you silly Canucks out there, and be sure to eat some bacon on my behalf.

I have many, many slimes in my collection... but some of them have stories. The angel slime on the left was given to me by Jeff shortly after I started here. I saw it in his office, squealed and picked it up, and he offered it up for adoption. I think it was to get the crazy person out of his sight. It's sat on my monitor ever since.

The fuzzy slime on the right, he dropped off on my desk earlier this week. It's soft. I hugged it a lot today.

Since we could all use a little holiday cheer, it is my pleasure to announce the winner of my Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations Giveaway! Fingers are being pointed! Objections are being made! Prizes are being won for it! You guys are all awesome; thanks for the entries and the interest.

Ahem, ::drumroll::.

DJ_Lae, you're winner! It is my fervent hope that you wear this suit while playing, and also that you clean that fishtank. Congrats!

Other entries of absolute awesome:

Edubuccaneer is a fine Objectioneer.

clarkeyboy21 is not taking any guff from the prosecution!

REVOLUTIONfreak has a mighty index finger. Let me show you them.

Legolas_Katarn gets extra hair points!

someone068 is not about to let you get away from a contradiction! Be afraid!

Thanks so much for entering--being able to do something like this really brightens my day. Hopefully I can do some more of these really soon.

Blizzard posted some new WoW commercials today.

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/downloads/movies.html

The Mr. T one in particular is the most awesome thing I have seen today. I will be giggling all week long. Goddamnit.

This contest begins with a story:

Once upon a time, Bethany put a game called Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney into her DS and found it good. When it came time for its sequel to be released, she discovered a fascinating fact--Japanese games come out in Japan before they do the US. Okay, that wasn't new, but there was an important quality of this particular Japanese release, and it was that the game came with full English text. As in, the game was already fully localized for an English market and was just an import away. No need to think about that one; she imported the second game. When the third game rolled around, she did the same thing.

However, it's important to be mindful of more than just your own personal situation when dealing with niche games. Purchasing import copies means less domestic copies sold, which means suits look at numbers and end up making decisions like "let's not bring these out anymore". And that's bad for the future of niche-y funstuff, because we want it to come out over here. Also, Apollo Justice will not have English text, so if you want to keep up on the DS attorney train, you need to support the home release.

So Bethany ALSO purchased a US copy of Trials and Tribulations, the third game in the series, to support the domestic market. However, she already has the import version. So this means... it's time for a giveaway!

PHOENIX WRIGHT: ACE ATTORNEY TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS GIVEAWAY

Here's how to play:

- Strike your best Phoenix Wright classic "Objection" pose. Blue suit is optional, but encouraged. Spiky hair is a plus.

Example of the classic form:

- Take a picture, save it to your computer. Upload it to your GameSpot profile page (check out the "Images" tab). Note: You will need to be at least User Level 3 to upload images.
- Send me a PM with "Ace Attorney" in the subject line. Link me to your image.
- You must send me the PM by Monday, November 26th.

Winner will be determined by me sorting through the pics and finding the one I deem the most awesome, and will be announced Friday, November 30th. The prize is a sealed copy of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations. May the best Phoenix win!